Miley Cyrus Stopped Smoking Weed Because of a Recurring Nightmare

In case you missed it, Miley Cyrus doesn't smoke weed anymore. And the star has been pretty candid about her decision to go marijuana-free as of late.

On a recent episode of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Cyrus explained that her new album motivated her to get sober. Cyrus talked to Fallon about how passionate she is about her upcoming release, and she explained that she wanted to be able to articulate that passion to fans and interviewers. "If I want to sit on this couch and really tell people what I think about my new music, I want to sound as smart as I think I can be and really explain what I'm doing," Cyrus said. "I say this every time, but I loved making this record so, so much. This record, for me at this moment, is the most important album that I’ve ever made. So I wanted to make sure that I was super clear about the way I’m talking."

Cyrus told Billboardthe same thing back in May when she first shared that she'd stopped smoking. "I’m not doing drugs, I’m not drinking, I’m completely clean right now," the singer said. "I want to be super clear and sharp, because I know exactly where I want to be...I like to surround myself with people that make me want to get better, more evolved, open. And I was noticing, it’s not the people that are stoned."

But in her interview with Fallon, Cyrus explained that her desire for clarity wasn't the only reason she decided to stop smoking weed. She also had a recurring nightmare where she'd died while performing a monologue on Saturday Night Live because she'd smoked so much weed. "I kept having this nightmare—it was seriously horrible," Cyrus told Fallon. "I had a dream that I would die during my monologue on SNL for some reason. That I would just get so stoned that I'd just die."

Cyrus said her nightmares inspired her to Google whether anyone had ever died from a marijuana overdose before, and she discovered they hadn't. (She's right—no deaths directly tied to marijuana have ever been reported.) But even that didn't quell her fears. "No one's ever died from weed, but no one's ever smoked as much as I did," she joked.

Yes, marijuana won’t kill you. And it may not even be addictive in the way we think of addiction. But it is definitely possible to abuse it, in that using it too much can interfere with your life in a negative way.

The reasons Cyrus mentions for quitting—weed made her feel like she couldn’t communicate clearly; she felt like she wasn’t surrounding herself with people who lifted her up; her drug use was giving her nightmares—are all signs that her marijuana use was problematic, and that cutting back, or cutting it out altogether, was the right and healthy move for her. Just because you’re not addicted to a drug doesn’t mean that the use of it isn’t problematic—and Cyrus’ choice to go clean is a good reminder of that.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or a growing dependence on alcohol or drugs, know that help is available. You can call the 24-hour National Treatment Referral Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP or visit the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment website.